[Location: Old Sector 9 - Abandoned Metro Station]
[Time: 12:00 PM]
[Status: Fugitive]
[Current Funds: 2.7 Billion Credits]
The sewers eventually led them to a place forgotten by time and civilization.
Old Sector 9.
Before the Spirit Era, this was the central hub of the city's metro system. Now, it was a sealed-off dungeon, buried beneath tons of concrete, filled with mutant rats and the echoes of ghosts who missed their last train.
Ryan stepped onto the rusted platform, his boots crunching on broken glass. The air was stale, smelling of wet rust and ozone.
He looked around. The massive station stretched into darkness. Broken escalators led to nowhere. Advertisements from ten years ago peeled off the walls.
"It's... a fixer-upper," Ryan admitted, kicking a rat skeleton aside. "But the rent is free. And the neighbors are quiet."
Instructor Viper pulled her cloak tighter around herself, looking around with unmasked disgust. "You want us to live here? Ryan, I am an S-Rank Assassin. I am used to silk sheets and wine, not... whatever this is. It smells like Grog's armpit."
"Hey!" Grog protested, sniffing his armpit. "Grog smell like lavender! Boss bought Grog fancy soap!"
"It's perfect," Ryan ignored the complaints and walked to the center of the platform. "Think about it. It's underground. Shielded from satellite scans. It has multiple tunnels leading to every part of the city. It's the ultimate hideout."
He opened his System Interface. The blue screen glowed brightly in the gloom.
[System Skill: Domain of the Dead (Active)]
Ryan slammed his hand onto the dirty floor.
WHOOSH.
A wave of purple necrotic energy exploded from his palm, spreading through the station like a shockwave.
The mutant rats squeaked in terror and scurried away into the deep tunnels. The weak, wandering ghosts hiding in the shadows shrieked and bowed, sensing the presence of a Lord.
"Kelly," Ryan summoned his Shadow Lich. "We have guests. Clean this place up."
The Lich floated out of Ryan's shadow, his tattered robes flowing in an invisible wind. He looked around the filthy station.
"My Lord..." Kelly's voice was hollow. "I am a High Mage of the 9th Circle... I have destroyed kingdoms... and you want me to be a janitor?"
"Yes," Ryan said firmly. "Use magic. Make it shine. I want to see my reflection in the floor."
The Lich sighed—a sound like wind howling through a crypt—and waved his staff.
[Spell: Greater Cleanse]
A wave of blue magic swept through the station.
Decades of grime and dust vanished instantly. Rust turned back into shiny iron. The broken lights sparked and then burned with a steady, eerie blue glow. The mold on the walls bloomed into dark, glowing flowers.
"Wow," Violet adjusted her glasses, impressed. "Magic housekeeping. Efficient. Can he do laundry too?"
Ryan walked to the old Ticket Booth. It was encased in bulletproof glass.
"This," he pointed, "is the Command Center."
He pulled out his laptop and connected it to the station's dormant terminal.
"Neo, you're up. Hack the grid."
The young hacker, Neo, cracked his knuckles. "On it, Boss."
He typed furiously. Within seconds, the screens inside the booth flickered to life.
[Access Granted: City Power Grid]
[Access Granted: Traffic Cameras]
[Access Granted: Hunter Association Database]
Lights blazed to life throughout the station. The hum of electricity returned. It felt alive again.
"Okay team," Ryan turned to his squad. They stood in a semi-circle: A Demon, a Ghost, a Doll, a Hacker, a Poisoner, and a Jinx.
"We are no longer students. We are no longer just a party. We are a Guild."
"A Guild?" Felix asked nervously, looking at the 'WANTED' poster on the screen with his face on it. "But we are criminals. We can't register."
"We are a Shadow Guild," Ryan corrected, his eyes gleaming. "We operate in the dark to serve the... well, mostly to serve me. But we also save the world occasionally."
Ryan typed on the keyboard.
[Guild Name Registration (Unofficial)]
[Input: The Suicide Squad]
[Motto: We Die So You Don't Have To (Terms and Conditions Apply).]
"Now," Ryan looked at the map on the screen. "We have 2.7 Billion Credits. We need to fortify this place. I want automated turrets. I want a barrier that can stop a tank. And I want a Jacuzzi."
"A Jacuzzi?" Viper raised an eyebrow.
"Morale is important," Ryan argued.
Suddenly, Nero (the Baby Shadow Dragon) flew onto Ryan's shoulder. He chirped urgently and pointed his tail at one of the surveillance screens.
"What is it, buddy?" Ryan looked at the screen.
On the screen was a live News Report from the City Plaza.
The headline read:
"BREAKING NEWS: General Ironwood announces the public execution of 'Traitors' tomorrow at noon."
The camera panned to a lineup of prisoners kneeling on a stage.
They weren't Ryan's team.
They were Class F students.
The ones Ryan had left behind at the Academy. The ones he had protected.
Ryan's eyes narrowed. The playful streamer persona vanished instantly. The temperature in the room dropped.
"He took hostages," Ryan whispered. His voice was dangerously quiet. "He took my classmates."
Viper walked over and looked at the screen. "It's a trap, Ryan. He knows you'll come for them. He has the entire army waiting. Tanks, mages, maybe even other Generals."
"He wants to lure you out," Neo added, his hands shaking. "If you go there, it's suicide."
Ryan stood up. His shadow grew larger, filling the room with darkness.
Bob (The Butcher) sharpened his axe on the floor, sparks flying.
Kelly (The Lich) raised his staff, green fire igniting in his eyes.
Nero hissed, black smoke leaking from his mouth.
"A trap?" Ryan smiled. It wasn't a nice smile. It was the smile of a monster who just found his prey.
"Good. I hate searching for enemies. It's much easier when they are all in one place."
He looked at the camera drone hovering nearby.
"System, start the stream. Title: 'Saving Private Ryan's Classmates (Gone Violent)'."
"We aren't just going to save them," Ryan declared to his team. "We are going to make General Ironwood regret he was ever born. We are going to burn his reputation to the ground."
[System Quest Generated: The Public Execution.]
[Objective: Rescue the Hostages.]
[Bonus Objective: Destroy Ironwood's Career.]
[Difficulty: S-Rank.]
[Reward: Guild Reputation Max.]
Ryan put on his [Mask of the Laughing Demon]. The white mask fused with his face, freezing his expression into an eternal, mocking grin.
"Grog, grab your hammer. Violet, prepare the gas. Felix... just try not to trip."
"Let's go start a riot."